A snowboard rider controls the board by flexing and moving her legs relative to the toe or heel edge. To help translate the rider's movements, a snowboard binding oftentimes is provided with an upright member called a hi-back, illustrated in FIG. 1, which includes a heel cup that receives the heel of the snowboard boot. Flexing her legs forward will create an upward force on the heel cup which helps influence the board to shift onto the toe edge and as the rider leans forward the force is transmitted along the hi-back and binding to the board to complete the turn. Similarly, flexing her legs rearward against the hi-back puts the board on the heel side edge and a corresponding transfer in weight and balance finishes the heel side turn.
To accommodate the legs angled forward snowboarding stance, the hi-back typically is inclined relative to the board, in a position referred to as the "forward lean". A forward lean adjuster, such as a slidable block or other incrementally adjustable member, typically is provided on the hi-back to allow the rider to selectively regulate the angle of the hi-back for comfort and control. The variable position block acts as a stop against a heel hoop of the binding base plate, limiting the rearward pivoting of the hi-back beyond the desired forward lean setting. On the other hand, the forward lean adjusting block does not prevent the hi-back from traveling away from the heel hoop, such as when the board is placed on the toe edge. Migration of the hi-back out of contact with the heel hoop, sometimes referred to as toe-edge travel, may decrease the translation of rider motion to the board as compared to when the hi-back is in abutting contact with the base plate, such as when the forward lean stop block is flush against the heel hoop.
It is known to provide a hi-back 10 with a flat rectangular bail 12 that seats within a pair of centrally located vertical slots 14 on the heel hoop of the binding base plate to prevent hi-back migration, as illustrated in FIG. 1. The prior art arrangement, however, does not accommodate lateral rotation of the hi-back. As disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,356,190, assigned to The Burton Corporation, also the assignee of the present application, snowboard bindings oftentimes are positioned at an angle to the axis of the board (such as 45.degree., for example) which may reduce heel side turning response since the turning force is not transmitted perpendicularly to the edge of the board. To compensate for the bindings stance, the '190 patent discloses an arrangement for laterally rotating the hi-back independent of the binding plate so that it presents a surface relatively parallel to the edge of the board, improving response particularly on heel side turns.